After “Poor Things”: You should definitely catch up on this insider tip from 2023 with Emma Stone – even if it hurts!

Emma Stone (“Easy to Have”) is one of the greatest actresses working today. And she has truly earned this status through her performances in films such as ‘The Help’, ‘Birdman’, ‘The Favourite’ and ‘La La Land’. The 35-year-old can currently be seen on the big screen in Yorgos Lanthimos’Poor things“ – and delivers her best career performance to date. We will find out whether her performance will be honored with a new Oscar on the night of March 10 to 11, 2024, when the Academy Awards will be presented for the 96th time.

If you really want to see more of Emma Stone after “Poor Things” but have already checked her big successes off the watch list, then I have an absolute insider tip for you: “The curse“. The format developed, written and directed by Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie was released directly by Paramount+ in 2023, but did not receive the attention it deserved in Germany.

That’s what ‘The Curse’ is about

Whitney (Emma Stone) and Asher Siegel (Nathal Fielder) are newlyweds and host the reality TV show “Fliplanthropy” on the home improvement channel HGTV. Here, the duo is supported in their plan to help the locals of the small town of Espanola, New Mexico, with their real estate development business. At first glance, the Siegels seem like people with good intentions, but behind the clean facade lurk selfish intentions.

The situation spirals out of control when Asher wants to portray himself as a patronizing benefactor of his show and begs a girl on the street for $100 on camera, only to demand the money back after filming ends. When the girl refuses, Asher snatches the money from her – and is then cursed by the child. What Asher initially likes becomes increasingly questionable after a few strange events…

It’s painful to follow

“The Curse” didn’t just come out of nowhere – at least for me. It is also very difficult to categorize the series to make it accessible to those unfamiliar with it. If you want, you could describe the format as a supremely unyielding expression of the cringe comedy served up by the likes of “The Office” or “Jerks.” While the said series dies out quite quickly, ‘The Curse’ remains in the pure feeling of unpleasantness, stripped down to its core.

The characters who accompany us here for ten episodes are the embodiment of profile neurotics. They are not interested in doing anything good for their environment. Instead, the focus of their intrinsic motivation is solely on gaining an advantage. The characters of Emma Stone, Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie, who also appears in front of the camera here as TV producer Dougie, are absolute narcissists who are completely taken over by their desire for recognition. A difficult situation, especially if you already have a certain amount of power – or are desperate for more.

Certainly watching “The Curse” is not exactly relaxing. The characters are simply too unbearable for that in their egomania or inferiority complexes. Laughter erupts rather unannounced from the audience – precisely because moments repeatedly arise that are so unpleasant that you simply want to free yourself from them with a physical reaction. This destructive form of how “The Curse” understands cringe comedy is quite unique.

The fact that you stay focused despite the characters being despicable is probably due to the fact that ‘The Curse’ is not only brilliantly acted, written and directed. The series also manages to get to the heart of the absurdity of our entire existence. You squirm from left to right on the couch at home because you probably know it all too well, this feeling of paralyzing (foreign) shame. And that is exactly what is revealed an elementary insight: control is an illusion. We have nothing under control.

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